LET’S EXPLORE OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

Solar System Overview Click Here to View Planets in Orbit The Solar System is made up of planets, moons, asteroids, comets, dwarf planets, and other objects that orbit the Sun. The bodies in our Solar System are defined into categories as follows: To be a “planet”, the object must orbit around the Sun, the object must be big enough that gravity makes it into a nearly round shape, and the object must clear the neighborhood around its orbit. To be a “moon”, the object must orbit something other than the Sun, like another planet. To be a “dwarf planet”, the object must orbit around the Sun, the object must be big enough that gravity makes it into a nearly round shape, the object does not clear the neighborhood around its orbit, and it is not a moon. All other objects that orbit the Sun, such as comets and asteroids, are defined as “small solar system bodies.” Click Here to View Planets in Orbit

Inner Planets Mercury Venus Earth Mars These planets are terrestrial. They are made up of mainly rock and metal, rotate slow, have solid surfaces, few moons, and no rings. Click here to return to previous slide

Click here to view our solar system Mercury Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, and the second smallest planet in our solar system. It looks a lot like Earth’s moon because it is covered with craters. It gets very hot (870°F) on Mercury because of its distance from the sun, but it also gets very cold (-300°F) because the planet spins so slow. Mercury has NO moons. 1 orbit around Sun: 88 Days Click here to view our solar system

Click here to view our solar system Venus Venus, the second planet from the sun, is an unfriendly planet. It is covered with thick clouds that trap most of the Sun’s heat. Venus has craters, volcanoes, mountains, and valleys just like Earth, but the planet is far to hot (850°F) for humans. Other than the Sun and Moon, Venus is the brightest object in the sky. Venus has NO moons. 1 orbit around Sun: 225 Click here to view our solar system

Click here to view our solar system Earth Earth, the third planet from the Sun, is our home planet, and it is the only planet that can support human life and have liquid water (lakes, oceans, rivers) on its surface. Earth has one moon, Luna, that can be seen in the sky most nights. 1 orbit around Sun: 365 Days Average Temperature: 45°F Click here to view our solar system

Earth’s Moon Earth’s Moon, Luna, is the fifth largest moon in the solar system, and is often considered a “double planet” to Earth because of its closeness in size. It is covered with craters, mountains, and old volcanoes. Temperatures on Luna range from very hot during the day, to very cold at night. Luna does not produce light on its own. Rather, it reflects light from the Sun as it orbits Earth. 1 orbit around Earth: 27 Days Click Here See Our Moon's Phases

Click here to view our solar system Mars “The Red Planet” Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, is often seen in the night sky due to its brightness and red color. Mars has volcanoes and valleys that are often covered by huge dust storms. In fact, the biggest volcano in the solar system called Olympus Mons is on the planet Mars. 1 orbit around Sun: 687 Days Mars has 2 moons. Click here to view our solar system

Outer Planets Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune These planets are jovian. They are made up of mainly gases. They rotate fast, have deep atmospheres, rings, and lots of moons. Click here to return to previous slide

Click here to view our solar system Jupiter Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, and it spins really fast. Its sky is filled with thick clouds that move around the planet. Under the clouds lies a large ocean that meets the sky. This planet has 3 dark rings made up of dust that aren’t easily seen. Jupiter’s average temperature is -244°F. 1 orbit around Sun: 4,333 Days Jupiter has at least 63 moons. Click here to view our solar system

Click here to view our solar system Saturn Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun, is similar to Jupiter except it is smaller. The clouds on this planet turn to liquid and the sky eventually meets the large ocean on its surface. Saturn has hundreds of rings made mostly of ice that are the most beautiful in all the solar system. It’s average temperature of -300°F is super cold. 1 orbit around Sun: 10,759 Days Saturn has more than 30 moons. Click here to view our solar system

Click here to view our solar system Uranus Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, is mostly made up of ice, and spins on its side due to a large object crashing into the planet long ago. Uranus has many rings, and it is possible that there is a large ocean under its clouds. Uranus’ average temperature is -300°F. 1 orbit around Sun: 30,684 Days Uranus has 27 known moons. Click here to view our solar system

Click here to view our solar system Neptune Neptune, the eighth and farthest planet from the sun, is very cold with an average temperature of -370°F. This planet is almost identical to Uranus, and has six rings made of rocks and dust. It also has the strongest winds of any planet in the solar system. 1 orbit around Sun: 60,190 Days Neptune has 13 known moons. Click here to view our solar system

Click here to view our solar system The Sun The Sun is the center of our solar system. As the closest star near Earth, the Sun’s light heats up Earth making it possible for life to survive. It is also the largest object in our solar system. The inside of the Sun is much cooler than its outside, and it completes one rotation every 24 days at the equator. Click here to view our solar system

Click here to view our solar system Comets Comets (originally known as snowballs from space) are made up of lumps of ice and dust. They orbit the sun in two places at the edge of the Solar System known as: A giant sphere that surrounds the solar system called the Oort cloud. A place just passed the orbit of Pluto called the Kuiper Belt. When comets crash into each other, they change directions and come into the Inner Solar System. Click here to view our solar system Click here to view Halley’s comet

Asteroids Asteroids are large rocks in outer space with round or irregular shapes. More than 100,000 asteroids lie in a belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid belt is divided into inner and outer belts. The inner belt contains asteroids made of metals while the outer belt contains rocky, darker asteroids. Click here to view our Solar System

What Happened to Pluto?? Pluto, formerly the ninth planet in our solar system, was renamed as a “dwarf planet” on August 24, 2006. Not only is Pluto smaller than the other 8 planets, but it is even smaller than 7 of the solar system’s moons. Further, its orbit overlapped with Neptune’s which disqualifies it as a “planet” under the new definition.

Inner Planets The Sun Outer Planets Mercury Inner Planets Venus The Sun Earth Mars Asteroids Comet Jupiter Saturn Uranus Outer Planets Neptune

Which planet is also known as the “Red Planet?” Question 1 Which planet is also known as the “Red Planet?” Saturn Mars Neptune Jupiter

Which of the following planets Question 2 Which of the following planets does NOT have rings? Saturn Uranus Jupiter Venus

Question 3 The phases of Earth’s moon include all of the following EXCEPT: Full Crescent Floating Gibbous

Which object is at the center of our solar system? Question 4 Which object is at the center of our solar system? Sun Pluto Earth Uranus